Boy student dies during running ‘test’

PHICHIT: A Matthayom 4 (Grade 10) student died after a fitness test during a physical education class on Monday.
According to Nikun Thongnasan, director of Sa Luang Pittayanikhom School in Muang district, Thanakorn (surname withheld), 17, collapsed during a morning PE class while running on the school’s football field.
The school director said students were required to run either 800 metres for girls or one kilometre for boys as part of their physical fitness assessment.
The teacher asked if any of the students were sick or had a congenital disease before the run. No one said they had any medical conditions.
Ms Nikun said the school had not been made aware of Thanakorn’s history of heart disease. She said the sophomore collapsed after 200 metres.
The teacher and the boy’s classmates rushed to perform emergency first aid on Thanakorn.
Others called the rescue centre hotline for an ambulance.
The paramedic team from Phichit Hospital arrived four minutes later and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as they rushed Thanakorn to the hospital two kilometres away.
Thanakorn was reported dead at the hospital.
The school director said Thanakorn’s body was sent to the Forensic Science Institute of Buddhachinaraj Phitsanulok Hospital for an autopsy to verify the official cause of death.
Ms Nikun said the school will co-host a funeral service for Thanakorn, and his family will also receive 40,000 baht from the school’s insurance policy.
She added that a fact-finding committee had been set up to probe the incident before reporting it to the Phichit Secondary Educational Service Area Office.